So did I mention I tried two copies of the canon 15-85mm in my seemingly never ending quest for a standard zoom lens that doesn't suck? Well I did and they both sucked, they were both decentered and on different edges of the picture too, maybe I should have tried a third?
I then tried a Sigma 17-50mm OS and guess what? The left side of the image is soft! I GIVE UP!!!!!! it was too short notice to send it back so I had to take it to this years Bristol Balloon fiesta and make do, SOME of the shots were relatively sharp across the frame at f/7.1 but even then it was hit and miss, I really wanted to stick to F/5.6 or ideally F/4 so I could use a CPL and stay to ISO 100 and still get decent shutter speeds because of my ridiculously shaky hands!
What a shame, the lens was good otherwise, it's very similar to my Sigma 18-50mm (which ISN'T decentered but DOES front focus by a huge margin) The build is great, the OS appears to work well, the usual warm Sigma colours are there and the bokeh is great for a zoom lens. Some reviews claim the lens has poor edge sharpness but on the side my lens was working properly I found the edge was very sharp by f/5.6 at the wide end and was pretty sharp wide open at the long end, if only the story was the same at the other side of the picture!
I will have to try getting a replacement or a warranty repair at least once so I will report back with my findings, I'm not holding my breath!
Anyway, here are some photos from the balloon fiesta, taken with a combination of Canon 60D and aforementioned Sigma lens as well as they Sony nex-5n and the Samyang 8mm and Fujian 35mm lenses:
a quickr pickr post
